Commerce on Early American Waterways

Colonial pioneers began entering the logging and forestry industries in great numbers along the Allegheny and Appalachian mountains during the late 1700s and were soon producing more products than they could use. This book details how settlers used waterways to transport goods to coastal markets. Topics include the timeline of water craft construction; major figures in the development of early waterway transportation; types of goods transported; and occupational hazards from raging rapids to snowstorms. The book also features photographs, charts, and diary excerpts and an appendix detailing ark and raft construction.

Twenty years of research produced one hundred and fifteen sources, ninety-five percent from historical societies, since large libraries held minimal information on the subject. For the Civil War buffs, chapters 5 through 9 give the "Woodhick's" (Pennsylvania Lumberjack) work ethic that made them a feared fighting force in the Union Army, known as the Bucktails.